Just a Twist
by Stonefire
Summary: What if Edmund had suffered injury after falling in the White Witch's castle? What if he no longer remembered who he was, leaving him vulnerable to his greatest enemy? Find out what could have happened in "Just a Twist."
1. A Twist

**Chapter 1**

Edmund stared at the woman's beautiful face, entranced by her flawless complexion, feline-like eyes, and the ice cold feeling of her hand on his shoulder. Had he ever seen her before? No...he didn't believe he had. He pushed his sudden alarm out of his throbbing head, choosing to look around him instead. Next to him were statues of various animals; creatures that he'd never seen before lined the walls, and a wolf stood beside the woman with a vicious snarl upon his lips.

"Son of Adam," she said, "do you remember who you are?" Her voice oozed with concern, so much to the point that Edmund felt impelled to tell her anything she wished to know, in case he were to cause her more worry. However, when he reached towards the part of him that remembered who he was, it seemed to go further and further away from him.

"I'm sorry," he replied with a sigh. "No. I can't remember a thing." He gazed at her with curious eyes. "Is my name Adam? Or is that just my father?"Edmund saw something flash across the woman's face that resembled pleasant surprise, but it changed so swiftly that he second-guessed himself.

"Ironic," she chuckled, ignoring his questions. "You would think that the Prince of Narnia would remember who he was." She lightly caressed his cheek with her hand. "Then again, dearest Edmund, you took a very nasty fall."Every worried part of him melted away at her touch.

"Narnia? What's that? And, if you don't mind my asking, who are you?" he asked innocently.

This made the woman giggle. "You're so funny, my sweet Prince. But I feel you shall remember soon enough." She motioned to a dwarf that was standing by the step. "Ginabrik, would you be so kind as to take the Prince to his room? I shall send for a servant to tend to his wounds."

"Yes, your majesty," he replied, helping the boy to his feet, though in a rather rough , though a bit shaken, stood and walked with the dwarf through the icy hallways. He brushed the back of his head and was surprised to feel a small trickle of blood, but he was much too dazed to think too much of it. The entrance he was led to wasn't like anything he'd ever seen before. Beautiful sculptures of ice lined both sides of the long corridors, all in the shapes of the mysterious statues he'd seen earlier, and wonderful colors danced throughout the glossy walls. The doors were made of the finest oak, and the handles were made of ivory."You're chamber, Your Highness," Ginabrik announced, an edgy flair in his Edmund opened the door, his jaw dropped in awe.

This had to be the most beautiful room he'd ever seen in his life! Chandeliers of pure crystal hung from a tall ceiling over the most inviting bed his eyes had ever beheld. Polar bear-fur blankets covered a massive double-king sized bed, and pillows woven of the softest fabric were strewn across the top. His head beginning to ache even more so than before, Ed walked towards the bed, but was stopped in his tracks by the rough hand of the dwarf."Hey! What's the idea?" Ed asked, a bit scornfully. "I'd like to rest my head, if you don't mind."

Biting his tongue VERY hard, so as not to reply in a way that would further anger the boy (for by angering him, he'd be angering /her/), he replied, "Your head would bleed all over the bed, your Highness. It would be better to wait for the servant her Majesty is sending."

"Well, I hope whoever it is hurries up!" was the boy's sharp retort. Edmund drank in the air of the room; it had such a sweet scent, almost magically sweet, and it made him love the place all the more…but something in the very pit of his gut told him that something wasn't right. The nice woman, the strange stone creatures, the dwarf, all of it slightly threw him off. He sighed…it all seemed too good to be true.

"Okay, okay. I'm here," a strained voice said. Startled, Edmund turned and gazed upon a young girl, only about seventeen years of age. In her arms she carried a small tray, and on it was a bowl of water, a towel, some ointment and a large bandage. "Now, let me take a good look at your wound." Ed turned around once again, trying not to cringe as she poked and rubbed the irritated skin. "Sheesh, you've done a fantastic job of banging yourself up, haven't you?" She chuckled to herself. "No worries, I shall have it looking as good as new in no time. No time at all." She gently washed away the blood, smeared on some of the ointment, and wrapped his head in the bandage. After she finished, Edmund found that he couldn't do anything but stare at her. She was very plain, but had a beauty that shone from within and spread about her like a blanket. She held out her hand to him. "My name is Dorlainedainwen." She chuckled again. "But you can call me Lena. And you are?"

"I'm Edmund…wait, no. I'm Prince Edmund. Of Narnia."

Lena's brows furrowed. "Really? That's strange…I've been here all my life, and not once have I heard of a Prin…Hey! Ouch!" she shouted as Ginabrik yanked on her hair and put a knife to her back.

"It's time for you to leave," he stated bluntly. Lena struggled, but was eventually forced into the hallway by the dwarf. He then turned to Edmund. "You should get some rest, Sire." With that, he left the confused boy to his own thoughts. Taking the dwarf's advice, Ed climbed onto the monstrous bed and quickly fell fast asleep.


	2. Jadis

**Chapter 2**

Never before had she expected fate to drop such a precious gift into her lap. And not just any gift…a prophesied, Narnian KING with unfortunate memory loss…_or else, _Jadis thought, _quite fortunate indeed._ She walked silently to the edge of the room's balcony, which gave her a fantastic view of the slowly-thawing Narnia, and hissed. Everywhere she looked, every sound she heard cried and shook with an intense longing, screaming for the prophesy to come to pass. Oh, how she loathed this land and all of its foolish creatures…but most of all, it was the great Lion himself which she despised the most. For generations, she had ruled from her ice castle without fear of Him…but now, all of her dark peace was lost. Her dreams were shattering before her eyes, and only one strand of hope was holding them all together.

Her _Prince Edmund of Narnia._

If she could just keep him under her power for long enough, possibly make him forget his true self forever, then she will have stopped those dreaded ancient words from coming to her mind's eye, she could imagine the expressions of his siblings as they discovered her control over him just as clearly as she could feel the smile upon her lips as he slaughtered them one by one…

She giggled, and for the first time since receiving word of humans in Narnia, she began to feel an ounce of dark, bubbling, hope.


	3. Friends

**Chapter 3**

When Edmund awoke, the room was darker than the stars' cradle of space, and every sound he made echoed, bouncing off the icy walls. His dreams had haunted his slumber and forced him to wake in a pool of his own sweat. Though he eagerly attempted to put the memories out of his thoughts, he couldn't stop them from coming.

_A large boy with blonde-brown hair and piercing blue eyes chases him down the hall of a huge house, carrying a paddle with many sharp spikes sticking out of it. The house itself seems familiar to Edmund, but he has little time to think of a reason why as his fear compels him to run faster and faster away from the boy. "Come back here, Traitor! You'll never get away from me," the boy shouts from behind. "Where ever you go, I'll find you." __He frantically searches for a place to hide, or something to defend himself with, but finds nothing in sight. Finally, when it seems he wouldn't be able to run any longer, a door at the end of the long hall opens to reveal a man. He's young, but much older than Edmund, and slightly resembles the boy who's chasing him. Such love shines through this man's face that Edmund has no trouble at all running into his outstretched arms. The man sends the other boy away and takes Ed into a snug room with a cozy fireplace and wonderful paintings on the walls. One thought rings throughout his mind: "Dad will protect me." For the first time in a long time, he's able to breathe a sigh of contentment and relief as he falls asleep in his father's loving arms…_

A loud noise roused the boy from his sleep. He jumped up quickly…too quickly, for the room began to swirl before his eyes. He gasped as a hand clamped over his mouth and another gently pushed him back down to the bed. Because of the darkness in the room, the figure before him seemed quite threatening, almost as alarming as finding out you were woken by your own shadow.

A voice softly spoke in his ear. "Edmund? Don't be afraid. It's me, Lena." With that, she removed her hand from over his mouth.

He sighed, relieved. "What are you doing here? Why didn't you bring a light?"

"Because I don't feel like being caught. It would mean being 'branded' again by that stupid dwarf's blade," she said. Edmund's eyes adjusted to the darkness in the room, and that was when he noticed the cuts that ran along her arms, still red and puffy. She followed his gaze. "Oh, don't worry about it. I'm fine. But I've been ordered not to speak to you again…which, of course, I find a terrible thing to do on their part, considering I'm your nurse." She smiled. "Just don't let anyone know I've been here. Sound good?"

"Of course," he agreed. Honestly, it was nice to see her again, and he hoped there would be more meetings like this in the future. With that, he made a mental note not to do or say anything that would mess up his chances of seeing Lena.

"So," she stated, attempting to break the awkward silence. "Um…are you feeling all right?"

He nodded, adding, "I feel great." He gulped. Something wasn't right. Why would that nice woman he'd met the day before do something so horrible to his nurse? Just for speaking to him...

There was a knock on the door.

"Prince Edmund? Are you awake?"

It was /her/.

Fear stormed within Lena's chest, and she quickly dashed under the bed. She did so just in time, for at that moment, the Ice Queen decided to open the door and walk in.


	4. Night Time Thoughts

**Chapter 4**

The stars shimmered radiantly against the midnight sky. Lucy, both worried and filled with bliss, wished that she could run into the heavens and get lost among their light. Mr. Beaver slept soundly near the fire beside Peter, and Susan slept on the opposite side next to Mrs. Beaver, though quite fitfully. A few times Lucy heard Peter mumble something resembling an apology; inwardly she knew he blamed himself for Edmund's folly, even though other things had played a large role.

She sighed.

This place was so awe-inspiring, forcing the world they'd come from to pale in comparison somehow, as if it had been part of a fleeting dream that she only had every now and then. It was this world, she realized, that they were made for…where they had always belonged. Where they always would belong.

The name Mr. Beaver had mentioned earlier still echoed throughout her thoughts, the real reason she could not rest.

_Aslan._

The name rolled off her tongue so lovingly, like a beloved bird's call, or a baby's laugh. There was power behind it, too. Every time she whispered it the trees would rustle their branches in anticipation, the air grew sweeter, crisper even, and the earth trembled with hope. Smiling, Lucy gazed into the fire. Thoughts of Mr. Tumnus tried to sneak into the picture, but they were stopped immediately. She wouldn't, she couldn't think that anything terrible was happening to her friend because of her.

"Oh, my Dear. What are you still doing awake?" Mrs. Beaver asked. Lucy jumped, realizing that she hadn't even noticed the beaver's waking.

"I don't think I could sleep tonight, even if I truly wanted to," she replied. Mrs. Beaver sat down beside her, taking Lucy's hand. "Excitement's getting to you, eh?" she asked, chuckling. The young girl nodded. "Yes, well, I suppose I can hardly blame you. Ever since I was a young beaver and I first heard stories of the Great Lion, I've dreamed of meeting him myself." She gazed at her paws, brushing off some dirt that clung to her fur.

"Do you really think he'll help us get Edmund back?" asked Lucy, even though she believed she already knew the answer.

"Well, you never know. Aslan does whatever he pleases. But, I don't see why he wouldn't." Lucy nodded, pulling her coat tighter around her. She thanked Mrs. Beaver, who looked as tired as she felt, and rolled onto her side. Both of the ladies slowly fell back into a slumber, dreaming of the mighty Lion.


End file.
